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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mouse · safe · straw · degree · race · tear · pitch · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. race — the arms race
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — completely
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com